Children and Families in the Context of Disasters: Implications for Preparedness and Response.
Year: 2008
Type: article
Abstract: While research and clinical experience have dramatically increased our knowledge about the emotional and behavioral effects of disasters, the focus has been primarily on individuals. In this paper, we summarize the literature on child and family adaptation to disasters, the influence of family members on one another’s disaster reactions, the effects of disasters on parenting, and the ability of parents to identify disaster reactions in their children. We include policy implications and present recommendations for preparedness and intervention and for empirical study. We conclude with general thoughts about the status of the field and the need for future research.
Families and Disasters
Families are defined by relationships—parent to parent, parent to child, and sibling to sibling in immediate families and through even more combinations in extended families. Families are characterized by their structure, roles, and boundaries; emotional bonds and responsiveness; cohesiveness; flexibility, adaptability, and coping; communication; and decision making and problem solving (Moos & Moos, 1976). Families support, nurture, and protect children. This is at no time more essential than in the context of disasters.
While there are many definitions of “disaster,” common to most is an emphasis on the destruction they cause and their abrupt onset (World Health Organization [WHO], 1992). McFarlane and Norris (2006, page 4) define a disaster as “a potentially traumatic event that is collectively experienced, has an acute onset, and is time-delimited.” Others emphasize the consequences of these events and the ability of the affected community to cope with the consequences (WHO, 1992). For example, the World Health Organization (1992) defines a disaster as “a severe disruption, ecological and psychosocial, which greatly exceeds the coping capacity of the affected community” (WHO, 1992, page 2). This means that the usual community support structures available to families may be overwhelmed following a disaster. A key aspect of disaster response involves reestablishing the pre-existing structures and creating new structures to address individual, family, and community needs.
Source: PubMed
Authors: Betty Pfefferbaum, Carol S North
Institution: University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W84053511